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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26925904">Carry My Flag</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/includewomeninthesequel/pseuds/includewomeninthesequel'>includewomeninthesequel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BAMF Peggy Carter, F/M, USO Dancer!Peggy, Undercover!Peggy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:07:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,778</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26925904</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/includewomeninthesequel/pseuds/includewomeninthesequel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>No matter how Peggy spun it, this new assignment was nothing more than glorified babysitting.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>107</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Mission</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt from 3pirouette on tumblr: I wish you would write a fic where they assign Peggy to protect Steve on the USO circuit as one of the USO dancers. If she likes it or not is up to you :) </p><p>This started out as a 2.3K word fic, then I super fell in love with this universe so I revisited it and added about another 4K words. Now it's here.</p><p>The title is a reference to a line from Star Spangled Man With A Plan.</p><p>Marked as complete, but I will probably return to this universe at some point</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No matter how Peggy spun it, this new assignment was nothing more than glorified babysitting.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">While she knew that her string of good luck regarding field missions was bound to run out sooner or later, this was the last thing she expected when she’d returned from her latest one in Austria.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Her skills would be far better suited to continue working under Colonel Phillips, going undercover and gathering crucial intel for the Allied cause. That’s exactly what she had been doing - quite successfully, she might add - for months now. She could do more damage to Hydra and the Nazis if she was out in the field.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Colonel Phillips knew it too. At least, that’s what Peggy assumed, seeing as he put up more of a fight than she’d expected when he learned that she was being transferred from the front lines to join the USO circuit to protect Steve Rogers.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Now known as Captain America.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At least, that’s what he was being promoted as to the public.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy had studied his file as part of her research, and she’d heard the grumblings from the other men in camp about Project Rebirth and its “failure”, as they chose to phrase it.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Truthfully - and silently - Peggy thought his transformation was nothing short of a miracle. He went from being 5’4”, 94 pounds with a novel of ailments to being what could only be described as a super soldier.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Why he was being relegated to show business, with her as his undercover bodyguard, Peggy couldn’t understand. If he was valuable enough to the cause to need protection, he was important enough to actually be a part of this war - especially with his newfound abilities. Steve Rogers could be so much more, if they’d let him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That at least, she could sympathize with.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“This is your cover,” Phillips told her gruffly, handing her a thin file. “I hope you’ve been practicing your American accent.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Betty Carver?” she scoffed incredulously as she read the name at the top of the page.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Phillips snorted, but he seemed to share her sentiments on it.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I didn’t come up with it.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Clearly,” Peggy muttered as she looked through the other details of Betty’s life.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It wasn’t enough that she was being forced away from the action, whoever made this clearly wanted to have one last laugh at her before she was shipped off.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At least she wasn’t being required to dye her hair.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After she had been given an entirely new wardrobe in a suitcase - along with a radio she could use to contact the SSR in case of an emergency - Peggy was dropped off at the bus station, where she met the rest of the USO girls - all 20 of them. Together, they took the same bus to their hotel in Brooklyn. They were to have a few days of rehearsals, and then they would run for two weeks here before moving on to their next stop.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">One blonde woman in particular, Beth, had taken an instant liking to Betty and chose to sit next to her on the ride over. When Beth asked Betty if this was her first tour, she had sheepishly admitted it was her first gig ever. Beth spent the rest of the bus ride talking her ear off, giving her advice, telling her stories of performances gone right and wrong, and most importantly, assuring her that she had an entire support system of women if she ever needed help.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>They were sisters now</em>, Beth had told her, smiling brightly enough to light up her green eyes.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Though Peggy was miles from where she wanted to be, she could begin to see some slight silver lining to the whole ordeal.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Luckily enough, Betty and Beth were paired up to share a room - and Peggy was almost certain that Beth had something to do with that, which made her respect for the woman grow tenfold.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You coming, Bet?” Beth asked her shortly after they’d dropped their bags in their room, looking more than ready for dinner.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">While Betty was also hungry, Peggy was <em>starving</em> for whatever food the hotel dining room had. No matter what it was, it wasn’t K-rations, and that’s all that mattered.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’ll be down in just a minute,” she smiled. “I like to unpack first.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Whatever you say,” Beth said incredulously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy waited for the door to close behind Beth before setting to work, checking the room for any listening devices, seeing what vantage points she had to work with, and double checking the gun in her thigh holster that she’d made herself, just for the occasion.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">While she wasn’t about to go around unarmed, it wouldn’t do well for sweet, slightly naive Betty to be seen carrying a gun.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She then unpacked her entire suitcase, since that’s what she told Beth she was doing.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A knock at the door startled her just as she hung her last dress. With everyone on the tour presumably already at dinner, there wasn’t reason for anyone to be at her door.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy cautiously approached it, hand hovering over where her gun was hidden underneath her skirt. She took a breath, and opened the door, ready to react at a moment’s notice.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hi,” the man greeted cheerfully. “I’m Steve Rogers.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Now, Peggy had read everything there was to know about Steve Rogers. She knew where he was born, every school he’d attended growing up, and she could name every one of his past health problems in her sleep.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What her reading hadn't prepared her for, was how boyishly handsome he was in person, the intensity of his blue eyes, or his disarming smile.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Hi," she said simply, her brain managing to forget all other words in existence.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Get a grip, Carter.</em> </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Betty Carver,” she added quickly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ma’am?” she asked, raising her eyebrow at him. “I can’t tell if you’re overly polite, or if I look that much older than I actually am.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Just how I was raised,” he shrugged sheepishly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Betty’s just fine, Captain,” she told him, giving him a reassuring smile.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The tips of his ears went pink at her use of the title.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Betty, then,” he conceded, rubbing the back of his neck, though Peggy couldn’t help but notice that his smile never faltered.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I thought we were meeting you at dinner,” she asked curiously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I was there,” he told her. “One of them - Beth - she told me you were still up here, but it’s been a while and I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That’s very sweet of you, Steve,” she said, softer than she’d intended.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They smiled at each other for a few moments, neither of them saying a word.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“And as I can see, you’re doing just fine,” he said abruptly, now looking awkward, as though he thought he was intruding on her space. “So I’ll uh, I’ll see you down there, Betty.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“If you wait for me to grab my purse, we can walk down together,” she offered eagerly before he could turn to leave.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She reasoned that it would be easier to protect him if she made friends with him, and there was no time like the present to begin forming that relationship.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’d like that,” he smiled.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Betty gave him her best smile before dashing back to grab her purse. When she returned, Steve offered her his arm.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Seems like you were raised right, Captain,” she teased, accepting it anyway.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As far as assignments went, Peggy had to (slowly and begrudgingly) admit that this one wasn’t flat out terrible.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Within the first few days of rehearsal, Betty and Beth were joint at the hip, and she’d made close friends with a few of the other women as well - Guadalupe and Gwen in particular.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She had to admit that somewhere between multiple breakfast adventures, rehearsals, and the different diners Gwen took them too, Peggy found herself really liking these women, too.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The show’s choreography was simple enough that with her limited dance experience, Peggy could get through it, and there were enough women around that she could sing mostly under her breath. Peggy was grateful that she didn’t have to worry about finding spare hours to practice on her own just so she could keep up - and keep herself from utter embarrassment.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The costume, however, left much to be desired.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Or rather, it left far too <em>little</em> to be desired.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The first time she tried it on, Peggy frowned at herself in the mirror.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why the long face, Bet? I’d kill to look the way you do in this costume,” Meredith told her as she finished applying her lipstick.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t start with that,” Beth interjected. “We all look gorgeous. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m just not used to showing this much skin in public,” Betty shrugged bashfully. “I’ll just have to get used to it.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Technically, it was the truth. The real trouble about it though (other than the fact that it was clearly made without thought to someone of ample breast size in mind), was that Peggy would have to get creative with adapting her thigh holster so that it could remain hidden underneath the <em>very</em> short skirt. While the easier route would have been to just go without it for the hour they were onstage, she knew that she couldn’t risk it. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve Rogers was too valuable an asset to let her guard down for even a moment.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Alright let’s get going,” Rhonda, one of their self-appointed mother hens told them. “Curtain for dress rehearsal is in two minutes.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They all filtered out of the room, but Peggy took an extra moment alone to don her holster and gun, tying it differently so that it rested higher on her leg, practically on her hip. She’d have to resew it for longterm use, but it would last for tonight’s performance.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She lowered her leg quickly at the knock at the door and subsequent voice that followed.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey Betty, you in there?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes, come in,” she said, knowing immediately who it was.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve entered the dressing room as Peggy smoothed down her skirt and took one last look at herself in the mirror. She heard his breath hitch, and she bit back a smirk. While Peggy didn’t like the outfit, she knew she looked far from terrible in it.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I, uh,” he cleared his throat. “Matthew’s looking for you. Something about your spin out into the finale.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy rolled her eyes. Not only had their director expressed far too keen an interest in all of the dancers, but he was woefully obvious about it. He was constantly coming up with poor excuses to speak with them alone, making lewd comments about their bodies, and encroaching on their personal space - though he’d yet to physically touch any of them. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">All of the girls - and Steve - had discussed at nauseam what they’d all like to do to Matthew the second he stepped one more toe out of line. It was just another thing that Peggy sorely missed about the army. Colonel Phillips always supported her whenever she “broke in” new recruits who had gotten too familiar with her. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Now all she could do was clench her fists so often and hard that there were now small red half-moon marks on her palms.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She turned to Steve, quip on the tip of her tongue, but was stopped by the sight of him in his Captain America costume.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well hello, <em>Captain</em>,” she teased, unable to stop a small giggle from escaping her mouth.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I look ridiculous,” he stated flatly, a frown adorning his face.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I think it looks good,” she pressed on.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I wish I could believe you.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy cleared her throat, but couldn’t help but continue to smile.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You do look good,” she assured him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah well I don’t look as good as you,” he said honestly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy quirked her eyebrow up curiously. Steve realized his mistake, his own eyes widening as he fumbled to cover his tracks.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“By that I mean that you look beautiful, I mean, you always look beautiful - but I promise I don’t mean it in a creepy way I just mean you’re beautiful in the sense of-”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?” she asked amusedly, cutting off his rambling.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I think this is the longest one on one conversation I’ve ever had with one,” he admitted.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">To be fair, he had a point. They hadn’t done much talking when he’d walked her to dinner their first night in Brooklyn, and every other time she’d seen him, there had been at <em>least</em> two of the other USO dancers around him, doing most of the chatting. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Not bad,” she conceded. “For your first time, that is.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Really?” he asked dubiously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“There’s something to be said about the way you managed to call me beautiful three times within the span of a singular sentence,” she shrugged. “In a completely non-creepy way.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve turned a very pretty shade of pink, and Peggy grinned.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Now, how about we go see what Matthew wants, hmm?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve gave her a confused look.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you always lurk around when he asks to talk to one of us privately,” she told him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I don’t like the way he talks to you,” he frowned. “Any of you.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Me neither,” Peggy grimaced. “If I wasn’t so worried about keeping this job, I’d have given him a piece of my damn mind already.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve’s eyes widened in shock and amusement, and Peggy realized it was the first time he’d heard Betty say anything close to what would constitute as a swear.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She shook her head fondly and walked out of the dressing room. When she realized he wasn’t following, she paused and turned around, finding him frozen in the doorway, staring after her.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well, are you coming, Captain?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a grin, catching up with her and offering her his arm.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Their run in Brooklyn was a bigger success than anyone could have anticipated.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was an enthusiastic standing ovation at the end of every show, and after their first night, they’d only performed to sold out audiences.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">By the time they were leaving Brooklyn to their next destination, they’d already extended the tour by a month, adding in three new cities and doubling the amount of dancers.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The person who was probably the most taken aback by their success was Steve. It was clear that he was hardly comfortable going out on stage and playing his part, but his discomfort had only grown now that he was also being made to greet the public after every show.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As Steve signed autographs and took photographs with various people, all the girls would watch from a distance - in solidarity, of course.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He’s never held a baby in his life, has he?” Cynthia asked through barely suppressed snickers as Steve handed back a crying toddler to its mother.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He held one five minutes ago,” Sybil defended.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“And he learned nothing apparently,” Guadalupe chimed in, causing all of them to giggle.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Betty looked up to find Steve looking at them helplessly, looking far too much like a distressed puppy for her taste. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She could only shrug and look at him apologetically.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">On more than one occasion, some of the after show crowd would end up getting far too <em>friendly</em> with him. Since Steve was too polite to make an exit himself, Betty and the other girls would step in and save him from the crowd.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Thank you,” he would always breathe out in relief as they escorted him back to the dressing room to change out of his ridiculous costume.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Never fear, Steve,” Joanne would always tell him. “Cap’s girls have got your back.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They’d all snicker at the frown that followed.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Interestingly enough, Steve never seemed to become accustomed to the constant onslaught of attention he received. He always reacted flustered and awkwardly, much to Peggy’s secret delight.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The more she got to know him, the more she realized that he was nothing like she’d imagined. Though she’d tried not to make any judgements before meeting him, Peggy had had enough experience with soldiers letting their newly appointed rank go to their head. While Steve wasn’t technically a captain, his newfound Adonis-type looks and fame provided every opportunity for his ego to inflate.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve however, never stopped surprising her. He was incredibly gentle for someone so large and strong, and always kind despite the fact that he was handsome enough that he could get on without having to be.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He also liked to take walks at night, as she’d accidentally learned. She had been doing a perimeter check of their hotel the night they’d arrived at their second city, when she’d turned the corner and nearly run into him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Literally.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What are you doing out here, Steve?” she asked. “Other than scaring the living daylights out of me.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He laughed softly and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sorry, Betty. I didn’t mean to, I was just out on my nightly walk.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You like walking at night?” she asked incredulously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, I don’t sleep much these days.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Is everything okay?” she inquired, her tone now soft.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, I just have too much energy. I can’t seem to sleep for more than a few hours at a time.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was something that had begun a few weeks ago, he’d told her. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why are you here?” he asked curiously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I have trouble sleeping in new places. I find that the best solution is a walk before bed.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve frowned.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“By yourself?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Do you see anyone else here?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m here.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy raised her eyebrow at him in a challenging fashion.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Are you offering to take nightly walks with me, Steve?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes,” he told her decidedly. “If that’s okay with you, of course.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">While Peggy was more than capable of protecting herself, Betty was relieved and took him up on his offer eagerly. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Besides, if he was up and out in the middle of the night anyway, it would do well for Peggy to be with him should trouble crop up.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ma’am,” he said teasingly, offering her his arm. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy rolled her eyes at what had since become a long running inside joke between them, but accepted his arm, just as she did every time he offered it.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Since that evening, they would now both sneak away from their rooms almost every night and take a walk together. They would designate a meeting time and place in their current accommodations, and afterward, Steve would always walk her right back to her door.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As the weeks wore on and the more cities they visited, so did their walks grow longer and longer, and the more Peggy learned about Steve Rogers.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Not “Captain America”, not the subject in the file she’d been provided, but the real Steve Rogers.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He talked of his mother, how hard she had worked to care for him, how much he loved and missed her.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She learned of his best friend, who stood by his side no matter how poor he was, and how many alley fights he got into. When he was finally shipped off, Steve was left practically alone.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve eventually confided to her that since the beginning of the war, he had only ever wanted to serve his country, that he wanted so badly to enlist so that he could stand up to bullies and help the little guy. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He thought that Project Rebirth would be his opportunity to finally achieve this, but with each passing city they performed in, he felt more lost and useless.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">More like the circus monkey that she’d seen him sketching every other week.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You were meant for more than this,” Peggy found herself telling him one night, as they were both seated on a park bench.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How do you know?” he asked, staring out at the moon.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You’re a good man Steve, and with your abilities…” Peggy trailed off, not wanting to give away just how much she knew about Project Rebirth.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You really think I can make a difference?” he asked, voice quiet and shy and so vulnerable that Peggy had a strong urge to wrap him in her arms.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She settled for resting her hand on top of his.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I know you can. Call it faith,” she told him sincerely.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve didn’t say anything in response, but he turned his hand and laced their fingers together.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They held hands all the way back to her hotel room, not another word shared between them that night.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What Peggy found particularly endearing about Steve - but would never dare say out loud - was how, no matter how many times they’d all change in front of him (as there was normally only one dressing room wherever they went), he was still the definition of the word gentleman. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve would always help with patching up their costumes, zipping them up when they were in a tight spot, and even learned to help them apply their make up, but he never stared or lingered anywhere longer than absolutely necessary.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">On this particular night, two weeks after they held hands during their nightly walk (something that hadn’t happened again - not that it mattered, she kept having to remind herself), Peggy was running late and was the last one in the dressing room. She was in the middle of pulling up her left stocking and clipping it in place - leg perched on the dressing table in front of her when someone walked in.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Betty, have you seen - oh <em>sorry</em>, sorry,” Steve apologized profusely.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy looked up just in time to see his wide-eyed expression and his cheeks turn red. From the look on his face, one would have thought he’d walked in on her half-naked, rather than fully dressed with only one stocking left to be fixed into place.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Though she supposed that with her leg still perched on the dressing table, he was getting quite a different angle of her than normal.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Lose something, Captain?" she prompted, quirking her eyebrow up in amusement.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"No," he said quickly, averting his gaze to look at the ceiling. "I mean, yes. I can't find the um, my head - my<em> cowl</em>, I mean."</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy took pity on him and lowered her leg.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’ll help you find it. Curtain’s in five minutes, after all.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Thanks, Betty,” he said, letting out a small breath of relief.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They searched the room silently, Peggy allowing Steve a minute to relax and compose himself.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Found it,” she proclaimed proudly, pulling it out from underneath Millie’s large purse.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You’re a lifesaver,” he grinned.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She smirked and walked over to him, handing over the cowl.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"You really mustn't worry, Captain. I don't have any devious plans to ruin your pristine reputation," she teased.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I wouldn’t mind if you did,” he murmured, clearly without thinking.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy's eyes widened slightly. Other than the night they’d held hands, this was the first time he’d actually done anything close to what could be considered flirting.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She tried to ignore how much she liked it.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’ll keep that in mind,” she told him, her voice slightly breathless.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve’s eyes flicked down for her lips, and he began to lean in.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Or was it her that was leaning in?</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Either way, their lips were now less than an inch away from each other and-</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Two minutes to curtain!”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They startled apart, and Steve cleared his throat.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“We should get-”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes,” she interrupted, dashing out of the dressing room and toward the wings.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy leaned against the closest wall and tried to control her breathing and hammering heart. When she seemed to have regulated herself, she fumbled to get her last clip in place with how much her hands were shaking.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>What in the bloody hell was that?</em> </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As they got into their first positions for the show, Doreen and Lacie asked Betty if she was feeling alright.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Betty smiled brightly and nodded.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy, however, had no idea.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy tried her hardest to put the <em>definitely not a kiss</em> incident behind her. The SSR sent her to protect Steve, not fawn over him like a school girl. She needed to get a grip before she put him in danger by being distracted by any minor feelings she definitely <em>wasn’t</em> holding for him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">So she started limiting their interactions as much as she could while still maintaining him in her peripheral vision. They were normally surrounded by at least one of the other USO women, which meant that Peggy could easily get away with not having any one on one conversations with him. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Still, she didn’t have it in herself to pull away from him completely.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy told herself that if Betty stopped their nightly walks now, Steve would become awkward and either put too much distance between them or cut her off completely, which would make her job of protecting him that much harder.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">So Betty continued to meet Steve every night, though she tried to keep the conversation to lighter topics. Even then it was hard not to fully engage with Steve when he spoke to her. It had been so long since a man was so genuinely interested in her opinion, who cared about what she had to say. The selfish part of her didn’t want to lose that.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m sorry,” Steve said as they arrived back at the hotel, four nights after they most certainly didn’t kiss.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She looked up at him, genuinely confused.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m sorry I tried to kiss you,” he clarified.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy tried to ignore the way her stomach filled with lead. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Did he regret it?</em> </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Steve-”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I should’ve asked first or at least confirmed that you felt the same way before I tried anything. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing a few times before anything came out of her mouth.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What makes you think that I’m uncomfortable?” she asked incredulously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He shrugged, his eyes sad.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You don’t talk to me as much anymore, even on these walks.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh Steve-” she said as they stopped outside her door.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s okay,” he said quickly. “It’s my fault and-”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m not uncomfortable around you,” she interjected.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What?” he asked, clearly taken aback. “But you ran out of the room the first second you could and you’ve been avoiding me.” </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>For the love of-</em> </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That’s not because of you, Steve,” she said exasperatedly. “I know I haven’t been acting like it but…”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“But?” he prodded cautiously. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I did want to kiss you,” she murmured self-consciously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You did?” he asked, his eyes now bright with hope.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy sighed, her heart melted at his sincerity.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s just… I panicked,” she admitted honestly, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t want to ruin anything.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Believe me, Betty, if either of us have a chance of ruining this, it would be me,” he said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How?” she asked curiously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’ve never been in a relationship before,” he told her, his cheeks growing pink in the dim hallway lighting.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Now that I don’t believe,” she told him kindly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I told you I used to be small. Women weren’t exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on,” he reminisced ruefully.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You must have danced,” she said softly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well, asking a woman to dance always seemed so terrifying. And the past few years, it just didn’t seem to matter as much. I figured I’d wait.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“For what?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The right partner,” he said firmly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Damn him. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Damn him and his stupidly expressive blue eyes and his caring, big heart and the way he treated her like she was the most important person in the world.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Damn him for breaking down the last of her will power. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Moved by his words, Peggy stepped up to the tips of her toes and kissed his cheek.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When she lowered herself, Steve had an awestruck look on his face. She smiled shyly at him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“For the record, I really like to dance,” she told him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’ll keep that in mind,” he breathed out, the corners of his lips twitching upward.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Goodnight, Steve,” she whispered.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Goodnight, Betty,” he murmured, now practically beaming.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy - <em>Betty</em> couldn’t help but reciprocate. She reached behind her to turn the doorknob, and stepped backward into the room. Without breaking eye contact with him, she managed to close the door.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You want to talk about that?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy jumped, nearly drawing her gun, only to find that it was just Beth, who was sitting up in her bed, clearly wide awake. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Just her luck.</em> </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Talk about what?” Betty asked innocently, flashing her roommate a sweet smile.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Whatever was going on outside that door.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I don’t know what you mean,” she smiled.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Beth gave her a pointed look.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I know, Bet.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy tensed.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Know what?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That there’s something going on between you and Steve,” Beth said in an obvious tone. “It’s clear as day.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy nearly sighed in relief. Better she think that than the alternative truth.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“There’s nothing going on-”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I know that there is nothing platonic about the way you two look at each other,” Beth argued. “And I know that you sneak out every night and Steve always walks you back. Though you normally don’t spend that much time lingering outside the door.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s not a big deal,” Betty blushed, focusing on taking off her jacket and hanging it up.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine,” Beth said, raising her hands. “But if you do, we both know I can keep a secret.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That, Peggy knew was true. When they both accidentally stumbled upon Kitty and Maria’s blossoming relationship a few weeks ago, they promised that they wouldn’t tell anyone - and they hadn’t. They’d only discussed it between themselves immediately afterwards, and then never breathed a word about it again.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Besides, it had been so long since Peggy had anyone to confide in. Even if she couldn’t tell Beth everything, she had grown to cherish her like a sister.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy sighed in defeat, sitting on the bed. Beth gracefully took it for the victory it was.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“So,” Beth prodded eagerly. “Tell me all about it.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“There’s not much too tell,” she shrugged. “Like you said, we go out on walks every night and talk.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Just walking and talking?” Beth asked incredulously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“We held hands once.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“God you’re <em>killing me</em>, Bet.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What?” she asked innocently.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“For all that sneaking around you two do, I thought you’d have gotten further than hand holding. At least kissing, ideally some groping.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy laughed and shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m afraid to report we’ve been nothing but chaste.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“If it were me, I woulda devoured him by now.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy raised her eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Not that I would,” Beth backtracked. “He’s <em>your</em> fella after all.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I wouldn’t say that,” Peggy defended quickly, tucking a hair behind her ear.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Beth looked at her curiously.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Is that what you’re worried about? Him not liking you back?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<em>No</em>.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Bet, there are 40 drop dead gorgeous women on this tour who Steve has seen half naked <em>many</em> times - some of which have practically thrown themselves at him at one point or another. But I can guarantee you that he only has eyes for one woman here.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That’s you, by the way,” Beth added.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I got that, thank you.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Seriously, Bet, he might as well have hearts instead of eyes every time you walk in the room.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Alright alright that’s enough,” Peggy scolded half-heartedly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“And you’re clearly head over heels for him too. So why not just take the leap?” Beth asked.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s not like anything could <em>really</em> happen between us,” she shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why not?” Beth challenged. “All you have to do is walk up to him and tell him that you want to make things official. Or better yet, just plant one on him. I betcha he’d be so happy he’d pass out.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s complicated,” she defended, biting her lip to hide her smile at the thought of kissing Steve.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What’s so complicated about it?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy snorted. It would be easier to list what wasn’t complicated. The sad thing was, in another world, another lifetime, Peggy could easily find herself actively pursing a relationship with Steve, maybe even fall in love with him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">If they weren’t in the middle of a world war.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">If he wasn’t a super soldier that was under threat from the enemy that she was sent to protect.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As things stood now, he didn’t even know her real name.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She didn’t think he’d be much interested in it when the truth about her came to light.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m scared,” Peggy admitted quietly. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As if the words activated Beth’s motherly instincts, the other woman immediately crossed over to sit beside Betty, wrapping her arms around her protectively. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Against her better judgement, Peggy allowed Beth to hold her, and even rested her head on her friend’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It felt like such a foreign thing to her now. Peggy was used to always shutting down her feelings since she joined the SOE. The men around her were always either threatened by the fact that she was a woman doing the same job they were or thought her nothing more than incompetent. Being constantly scrutinized every minute of every day, Peggy refused to give them the slightest bit of ammunition against her, which meant closing herself off completely.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But here, in the darkness of their hotel room, she could allow her feelings to come out, and give them the weight and value that they deserved. She could admit that she was harbouring feelings for Steve despite how hard she’d been fighting it, and she could acknowledge that she was becoming increasingly frustrated and saddened by this entire situation.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She had found true friendships in these women, and in Steve. It had been so long since Peggy felt surrounded by people who supported her and cared about her.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And it was all based on a lie.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Forget what I said,” Beth said gently. “If you two are happy taking things at a snail’s pace, then that’s okay. If you two are okay just holding hands and having nothing else happen between you, then that’s just fine. Just do what makes you happy.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I don’t want to hurt him,” Peggy said truthfully, knowing that one day, the ruse would be up, and Steve would end up hurt anyway.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I don’t want you getting hurt either,” Beth told her.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Believe me, I’m trying not to.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Though the more time went on, the more Peggy suspected that it was already too late for that.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<hr/>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Beth never brought up Betty’s relationship to Steve again, much to Peggy’s relief. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Betty and Steve didn’t either, but they continued to dance around each other with a newfound familiarity. Steve became a bit more open about flirting with Betty in public, to which Betty reciprocated - only as was appropriate, of course. Their walks after every show now featured handholding and the occasional kiss on the cheek goodnight - from both parties.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Things were going well, in Peggy’s humble opinion.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But partway through their show that night, she could tell that something was deeply wrong.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Truthfully, Peggy didn’t have any concrete reason to believe that there was any threat near. She’d taken all her normal precautions before the show and hadn’t made any threats close to them. But there were goosebumps on her arms and she was feeling more on edge than normal. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy knew better than to ignore her instincts.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They were nearing the end of the show. If someone was here in the crowd who was out to get Steve, they were likely to strike soon, using the cover of the rapturous applause to their advantage.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t lift the motorcycle,” she whispered to Steve as she danced by him before spinning away to her next position. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Though her voice was quiet, she knew his enhanced hearing had picked it up.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">While Peggy still didn’t know what the threat was, his final pose left him far too vulnerable for her liking, and if he went down, so would Samantha, Ingrid, and Helen.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steve gave her a confused look, but she shook her head slightly, her eyes pleading with him, though her show smile never faltered.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His head then snapped toward at the audience. Peggy followed his gaze and noticed the man in a fedora and trench coat who had just stood up and was making his way toward the aisle.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He began to raise his arm, and Peggy launched into action. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She broke formation and tackled Steve out of the way, both of them falling to the ground just as she heard a gun go off twice. Moments later she felt two bullets lodge in the back of her right shoulder and she let out a small cry of pain.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Chaos broke out among the crowd and the dancers onstage as everyone screamed and began to disperse. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Peggy breathed heavily through her nose as she maneuvered herself off of Steve, sitting up just enough for her to be able to use her left hand to pull her carefully concealed gun out of its holster. She grunted and aimed it toward the now group of men now charging toward Steve, managing to hit two of them.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What the hell is going on, Betty?” Steve asked, his voice panicked as he took in the blood coming out of her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hydra,” she told him, hissing in pain as he scooped her up. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How do you know about Hydra?” he asked as he began to carry her into the wings and away from the men chasing them.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“My name is Peggy Carter,” she explained, returning to her natural dialect. “I’m with the Strategic Scientific Reserve. I was sent to protect you.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<em>What?”</em> he asked hoarsely, his eyes rife with hurt and betrayal.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The searing pain in her shoulder was now rivalled by the ache she felt in her heart.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Steve, I-”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The sound of three gunshots behind them brought Peggy back to reality.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Look,” she told Steve. “I know this is confusing and you’re unhappy with me right now, but we need to get out of here.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I can’t just leave everyone else,” he said defiantly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“They’re after <em>you</em>. The best chance we can give them is by leading you away from here,” she reasoned, growing increasingly frustrated with him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Fine,” he begrudgingly agreed. “But you owe me an explanation.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“If we live, I’ll tell you anything you like,” she conceded.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Chase</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yesterday I completely, and unexpectedly got a hit of inspiration for the next part of this wonderful little universe, so I'm posting it now as a sort of send-off to 2020.</p><p>Small content warning: there is some description/discussion about injury-related blood and such.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">If someone had told Steve half a year ago that he’d be six feet tall with a whole slew of abilities that even an average fella didn’t have, he would have laughed.</p><p class="p1">If that person said that on top of that, instead of joining the front lines he’d be forced to become a stage persona by the name of <em>Captain America</em> - star spangled costume included<em>, </em>he would’ve laughed himself straight into an asthma attack.</p><p class="p1">However not only was all of that true, he was currently being chased and shot at by Hydra agents while wearing said star spangled costume and carrying the half-conscious form of the woman he’d been secretly in love with for the last five months.</p><p class="p1">The same woman who had been lying to him this entire time.</p><p class="p1">It figured that when he was finally given the chance to join the army, this is what would happen.</p><p class="p1">It couldn’t have just been Nazis.</p><p class="p1">“My bag,” Betty - <em>Peggy</em> he reminded himself - gasped.</p><p class="p1">“What?” Steve asked, glancing down at her briefly as he ran out of the stage door.</p><p class="p1">“We need my bag,” she said through gritted teeth. “In the dressing room.”</p><p class="p1">“There’s no time to-”</p><p class="p1">“Steve, we need-”</p><p class="p1">“<em>No</em>,” he snapped as another bullet whizzed by his ear. “There’s no chance in hell that if we go back we make it out again.”</p><p class="p1">“You’re so bloody dramatic.”</p><p class="p1">Considering that she was the one that he had to carry because she’d jumped in front of his body and taken two bullets for him, Steve wasn’t sure that he was alone in that category.</p><p class="p1">However, he wasn’t about to argue that point while they were still being hunted down at such a close range, and certainly not while she was bleeding out from said actions.</p><p class="p1">She had saved his life, after all.</p><p class="p1">And no matter how much he pressed his hand into her shoulder, the blood didn’t stop coming.</p><p class="p1">He turned a corner sharply, and he could feel her body go tense for a few long seconds.</p><p class="p1">“I’m not a bloody rag doll, Rogers,” she snapped, her face contorted in pain.</p><p class="p1">“Sorry,” he said sincerely.</p><p class="p1">Sure, he was feeling somewhat annoyed, pretty scared, and definitely betrayed, but he could understand how painful this was for Betty - <em>Peggy </em>right now, and being jostled was certainly not helping it.</p><p class="p1">“There’s a safe house a few blocks from here,” she said through gritted teeth.</p><p class="p1">“Why didn’t you lead with that?”</p><p class="p1">“Well do forgive me if I am currently unable to think clearly, I’ve only lost about half a pint of blood, if not more,” she glared at him.</p><p class="p1">Before he could retort, she told him the address. Taking stock of where they were, Steve guessed that they weren’t too far away, but he still had to waste precious minutes running in random convoluted directions in an attempt to shake the agents on their trail.</p><p class="p1">He’d never been so glad to be rid of his asthma.</p><p class="p1">When they finally arrived at the door, no longer being followed, Peggy shifted in his arms and used her left hand to pull a key from where he could only assume to be her bra. Steve was certain he was scarlet when she handed them to him, but he kept going without saying a word.</p><p class="p1">Her life was counting on him.</p><p class="p1">Only fumbling to lock the door behind them, he sped up the stairs to the closest bedroom. After setting her down on the bed as gently as he could, he took her left hand and guided it so that she was putting pressure on her wound where he had been doing so earlier.</p><p class="p1">“First aid kit?” he asked, taking off his cowl and tossing it aside.</p><p class="p1">“Under the bathroom sink,” she replied, her breathing becoming more shallow.</p><p class="p1">As he rushed off to the bathroom and searched for supplies, he shoved away the intrusive voice in his mind that told him there was a very real chance that she’d already lost too much blood.</p><p class="p1">Despite the fact that she was no longer the woman he thought she was, the idea of losing her terrified him to his very core.</p><p class="p1">“What are you doing?” she asked as he came back with a first aid kit, a few towels, and a bowl of water.</p><p class="p1">“I told you my ma was a nurse.”</p><p class="p1">“And she taught you how to remove bullets?” she inquired dubiously.</p><p class="p1">It was comforting to know that she was coherent enough to still tease him, but her tone was weaker than it had been even ten minutes ago.</p><p class="p1">“Not exactly,” he agreed as he set everything down and opened the kit. “But I’m all you've got.”</p><p class="p1">Peggy didn’t argue, and at his excessive stuttering, helped him remove the top half of her USO costume just enough so that he could have access to her shoulder.</p><p class="p1">“There are no exit wounds,” he said grimly.</p><p class="p1">“Probably the only reason I haven’t completely bled out yet,” she reasoned. “Well I suppose you’ll just have to dig them out.”</p><p class="p1">“Bet- <em>Peggy</em>-”</p><p class="p1">“I’m a big girl, Rogers, I can take it.”</p><p class="p1">Steve’s mouth formed a thin line and he nodded, his hands quickly working to prep the tweezers and wipe the wounds.</p><p class="p1">He gave her a towel to bite on, and he could hear her take a long, slow breath as she bit down on it.</p><p class="p1">Then he began.</p><p class="p1">Steve was surprised by the fact that other than breathing somewhat raggedly and the occasional grunt, she was hardly reacting to him digging the two bullets out, and to him stitching the wounds closed.</p><p class="p1">It seemed like an eternity passed as he finally dug the bullets out and began to stitch her up to close the holes. He was grateful for his nimble fingers, and all the times his own ma, and sometimes Bucky, had to stitch him up after a fight.</p><p class="p1">The end result wasn’t perfect, but it would do its purpose.</p><p class="p1">After wiping his own hands, he eased her on her back at an angle so that her right shoulder wasn’t bearing any weight.</p><p class="p1">“Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering.</p><p class="p1">He gave her a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, though she was having such a hard time keeping her eyes open he doubted that she saw it.</p><p class="p1">Steve then noticed a bit of sweat forming on her forehead. Without even thinking to ask, he pressed the back of his hand to it.</p><p class="p1">“You’re warm,” he frowned.</p><p class="p1">“It’s okay,” she breathed out, her eyes drooping shut.</p><p class="p1">“Peggy?” he asked, but she didn’t respond. “Peggy?”</p><p class="p1">Steve stared at her intently. She was hardly breathing.</p><p class="p1">He grabbed a clean towel and immersed it in water for a moment. After wringing it out, he pressed the wet cloth against her forehead, hoping that it would help to break her fever.</p><p class="p1">Steve then focused his attentions on cleaning up whatever blood he could from the area while not disturbing her. Peggy needed to rest if she was to heal, and there was a good chance that she’d snap at him if he woke her up now.</p><p class="p1">Though he figured there was just as good a chance she might also snap at him for not waking her sooner.</p><p class="p1">The first aid kit was left on top of the nightstand - just in case, the bloodied towels moved to the bathroom floor to be dealt with later. Steve then washed his own hands.</p><p class="p1">But they were still red.</p><p class="p1">He took a shaky breath and scrubbed them until they felt raw.</p><p class="p1">Steve found a clean towel and dried his hands.</p><p class="p1">He couldn’t tell whether the pink of his hands was from the heat of the water, how hard he’d been scrubbing, or the remnants of Peggy’s blood.</p><p class="p1">Thinking back to Peggy, he returned to the bedroom.</p><p class="p1">She hadn’t moved.</p><p class="p1">Steve checked her forehead.</p><p class="p1">She still had a fever.</p><p class="p1">But she was still breathing, even if her breaths were more shallow than he was comfortable with.</p><p class="p1">At a loss for what else he could do, Steve sunk to his knees beside the bed, and prayed.</p><p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Two hours later, Peggy’s fever still hadn’t broken, and she hadn’t woken up.</p><p class="p1">Steve swapped out the wet towel with a new one. Then he checked the contents of the nightstand's drawer, where he found a handgun.</p><p class="p1">He put it on the nightstand in front of the first aid kit, just in case.</p><p class="p1">Feeling more restless by the minute, he decided that a glass of water might help his nerves.</p><p class="p1">He ended up drinking three, and then pouring a second one to have ready for Peggy when she woke up.</p><p class="p1">After that, Steve checked the bedroom closet, where he found an arrange of clothes that were for for people of all sizes, most likely in the case of those who had to arrive with little to no notice, like themselves. Some of the clothes would even most likely fit him. He could probably use a shower anyway.</p><p class="p1">But he couldn’t convince himself to leave Peggy’s side for a moment longer than necessary.</p><p class="p1">At least not until after her fever broke.</p><p class="p1">The house was too quiet, which he knew was a good thing. It meant that they were safe for the time being. But after spending months surrounded by the USO dancers, the lack of noise and movement around him only served to make Steve feel more on edge.</p><p class="p1">And terribly alone.</p><p class="p1">He took a deep breath as he sat back down on the chair he’d stationed at Peggy’s bedside.</p><p class="p1">Steve’s head was beginning to spin as he tried to make sense of the last few hours. How the woman in front of him, the one that he thought he was getting to know quite well, was now a stranger to him.</p><p class="p1">Had always been a stranger, technically.</p><p class="p1">No matter how many ways he spun it around in his head, no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, at the end of the day, she’d lied to him, manipulated him into thinking she was his…</p><p class="p1">Steve had hardly been getting a grasp on what they were a few hours ago, let alone what they were now.</p><p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>Steve and Betty didn’t talk most of the way down to dinner the night they met.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>He wanted to say something, he really did. But his brain had gone fuzzy from the first moment she’d opened her hotel room door, and Steve would be lying if he said that the sweet smell of her perfume wasn’t still overwhelming his senses. He was lucky he’d kept enough of his senses and remembered to call her ma’am and offer her his arm.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>If he thought he’d been bad with women before, boy had he ever been wrong.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Erskine said that the serum would amplify everything. Steve just never thought that would include his awkwardness around women.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“I hope I wasn’t too forward.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Steve quickly turned to look at her.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“What?”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“When I asked to walk down together. I hope it wasn’t too forward.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“No. Not at all.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“I guess I’ve just been eager to make friends.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Friends, yeah. Friends are good - I mean, we can be friends. Friends.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Steve almost groaned out loud hearing himself speak, wishing that the floor would just swallow him whole right then and there.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>But to his surprise, Betty giggled, and Steve’s heart raced.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Friends it is, Captain,” she agreed as they arrived at the table where the rest of the company was at.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“There you are, Bet!” Beth called out. “I saved you a seat here.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>He pulled out Betty’s chair for her, and he swore he saw her hide a smile as she sat down.</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p>»»————-　　————-««</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Hello, Steve.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Steve looked up sharply at the new voice. He’d been so busy drawing in his sketchbook, sitting on the street curb by the stage door that he’d lost track of time. Betty was standing over him, a wide grin on her face.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>They were a month and a half into the tour, and though he and Betty had gotten closer, he still couldn’t control the way his heart raced or the way his palms started sweating whenever he was around her.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Betty. Hi.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“I was worried you’d gotten kidnapped by a group of your fan girls so I came looking for you.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>He ducked his head shyly.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Good thing I have you to watch my back.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Betty laughed softly.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“May I join you?”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Of course,” he said.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Steve shrugged off his jacket and spread it over the empty space so she could sit on it.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Ever the gentleman,” she teased as she took a seat. “Can I ask what you’re drawing?”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Oh I, uh, it’s not done.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“I promise I won’t tell anyone,” she grinned conspiratorially.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>And when had he ever been able to say no to her smile?</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>He discreetly flipped to another page as he handed her the book so she was looking at a drawing of the theatre they were currently performing in.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“I can’t believe this isn’t finished. This is really good.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>She flipped the page before she could stop him.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Wait-”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Betty sucked in a breath when she came face to face with a drawing of herself, the most recent one he’d just been working on.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Steve,” she whispered, clearly taken aback. “Is this me?”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly, his ears burning. “Sorry.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Why are you apologizing?” she interrupted, her fingers lightly tracing the page. “It’s beautiful.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“I just draw what I see,” he shrugged bashfully.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“You’re quite good,” she told him, an almost shy smile on her face. “How long have you been drawing?”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Since I was a kid. I spent a lot of time indoors since I was always sick and drawing was not only a way to make a few pennies here and there, but it was also an escape.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>She looked up at him, her eyes soft.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“You know… if you wanted to draw me again, I wouldn’t mind.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Oh - yeah, okay,” he said, swallowing hard. “I think I’ll do that. If that’s okay, I mean.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“It is,” she smiled. “I…I’ve never been anyone’s muse.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>It then occurred to Steve that this was one of those “moments” that Bucky had told him about. The moment where everything felt practically perfect, and all that there was left to do was to kiss the girl.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Before he could even begin to lean in to follow through on his thoughts, though, Betty was looking back at his sketchbook. Steve took a deep breath, trying to gather his nerve.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Betty-”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“There you two are!” Kitty said as the stage door opened behind them.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Both he and Betty startled, and he lamented the loss of the moment.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Gwen’s found a new bar for us to try out,” Maria told them, appearing behind her. “Come get a drink with us.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Sounds fun,” Betty smiled before turning to Steve. “You coming?”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Sure,” he told her, standing and then offering her his hand.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>She smiled brightly at him, and he tried to ignore the sparks that he felt when their skin made contact.</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p>»»————-　　————-««</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>“You can’t be serious,” Betty laughed as they walked hand in hand down the streets.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>They’d been doing that more often since that night at her hotel room door. Holding hands came naturally to them now, though Steve could never quite get over the thrill of it, the way their fingers fit together so perfectly. Betty’s hands were soft, but he could feel the texture of them that she’d gained through the work that she did growing up on a farm in Idaho. </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Bucky and I got into so much trouble when we both got back to his ma’s house soaking wet,” Steve admitted. “I was just lucky the cold I got afterward wasn’t too bad. Back in those days a stiff breeze could knock me over.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“I would have liked to know you back then, when you were small,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“I wasn’t much to look at,” he shrugged.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“That doesn’t matter,” she told him. “Not to me.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Steve stopped walking.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Betty-”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“I mean it, Steve. I would have liked to have known the little guy who wouldn’t run away from a fight, the one who took odd jobs even when he was bedridden so he could help his mom. Your muscles don’t define you, they’re just the cherry on top of an already rather… incredible ice cream sundae.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Steve inhaled sharply at her sincerity.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“You mean that?”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Of course,” she told him, taking both his hands in hers and pulling him just a bit closer.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Betty looked like a film star. Her hair was perfectly curled, and her lips were still bright red from her show makeup. She normally wore pink, which always looked good, but Steve loved the red on her, even if it did make it more difficult for him not to think of kissing her every time she spoke. The streetlamp coloured her in a warm glow, making her look angelic. The dark brown of her eyes invited him in as she stared up at him, enticed him closer.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>As they both leaned in, Steve thought that this would be it, that this was the moment where they </em>
  <b>
    <em>finally</em>
  </b>
  <em> kissed.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Then, just as he was close enough to count her eyelashes, Betty paused before turning her face slightly.</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“We should get back to the hotel,” she whispered. “Before anyone misses us.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Yeah,” he said, trying to swallow his disappointment. “Okay.”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>For a moment it looked like Betty wanted to say something else, but she closed her mouth and took his hand anew. </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>They didn’t say anything else until they got back to the hotel.</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Looking back on every interaction they had, Steve was starting to understand why she had always pulled away in the end. It was as though she had to constantly remind herself not to go any further.</p><p class="p1">The quiet but hopeful voice in his heart told him that meant there was a chance that her feelings for him might actually have been real.</p><p class="p1">What that meant for them now, however, remained to be seen.</p><p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Peggy’s fever finally broke an hour later.</p><p class="p1">Steve let out a shaky breath that he’d been holding since she’d passed out, and removed the cold cloth from her forehead. He then grabbed the extra blanket that was folded at the foot of the bed and covered her with it. Now that her fever was gone, it was important that she stay warm so that she didn’t go into shock with all the blood she’d lost.</p><p class="p1">With no possibility of a blood or plasma transfusion in the near future, the only thing he could do was make sure that her wounds didn’t get infected and that she got enough rest.</p><p class="p1">The rest was up to her.</p><p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Peggy’s eyes blinked opened just after the sun had begun to rise.</p><p class="p1">He’d never been so happy to see her beautiful brown eyes.</p><p class="p1">“Steve?” she croaked when she caught his gaze.</p><p class="p1">“Hi,” he smiled softly.</p><p class="p1">She made a small grunt of acknowledgement and looked around the room slowly, as though cataloguing her surroundings. Her eyes suddenly widened as though she remembered where they were, and she sat up sharply, but immediately winced.</p><p class="p1">“Hey slow down,” he said, reaching for the glass of water he’d left on the nightstand. “Don’t strain yourself.”</p><p class="p1">“I don’t think there’s any chance of me possibly feeling worse,” she muttered, but accepted his help so that she could drink the glass’ entire contents.</p><p class="p1">“Well… you look good,” Steve answered, not knowing what else he could say as he returned the empty glass to the nightstand. “For someone who just got shot and almost died, that is.”</p><p class="p1">“Thank you, that was my main concern amongst everything,” she said dryly.</p><p class="p1">It was still weird to hear her speak with such a crisp accent, especially when she was bantering with him, but he had to admit that it suited her type of humour. Steve couldn’t help it, he smiled the slightest bit.</p><p class="p1">“You, however, look like you haven’t slept,” she continued.</p><p class="p1">“Of course not,” he frowned.</p><p class="p1">She sighed, and Steve could practically feel the argument that was about to fall from her lips.</p><p class="p1">“You need to rest too, Steve.”</p><p class="p1">“You’re not exactly in a position to be telling me what to do,<em> Peggy.</em>”</p><p class="p1">“Just because I’ve been shot does not mean I’m completely incapacitated. I can still do my job.”</p><p class="p1">“You mean your spy assignment? The one where you’re my secret bodyguard?”</p><p class="p1">“Steve,” she warned, her face darkening at the implication his tone held.</p><p class="p1">“You promised that if we lived you’d tell me everything,” he defended, crossing his arms.</p><p class="p1">“Well we’re not in the clear just yet,” she argued. “We need to make contact with the SSR and then get out of here before we can even think to let our guards down.”</p><p class="p1">“You’re not going anywhere until that shoulder gets better.”</p><p class="p1">“That’s not a luxury we have, Steve.”</p><p class="p1">“That doesn’t mean that we’re going to risk you getting any more hurt by moving you too soon.”</p><p class="p1">“We won’t be safe anywhere for long with Hydra looking for you.”</p><p class="p1">“I thought that was the whole point of a<em> safe</em> house.”</p><p class="p1">“Do you think this is a bloody joke?”</p><p class="p1">“Oh I’m well aware that it’s not.”</p><p class="p1">“Are you always this infuriating?”</p><p class="p1">“Do you always flirt with your targets?” Steve snapped.</p><p class="p1">He regretted the words the moment they were out of his mouth. In the span of a second he watched a myriad of emotions cross Peggy’s face before it went completely neutral, devoid of even a slight hint of what she might be thinking.</p><p class="p1">“You weren’t a <em>target</em>, Steve,” she said in a low voice.</p><p class="p1">“You were assigned to protect me,” he answered, his tone matching hers. “It’s pretty much the same thing.”</p><p class="p1">“It isn’t.”</p><p class="p1">“Then what was it?” he asked, hating how small and desperate his voice sounded.</p><p class="p1">Peggy’s façade crumbled ever so slightly as she took a deep breath, as though trying to prepare herself for what was to come.</p><p class="p1">“I was supposed to be overseeing Project Rebirth with Colonel Phillips,” she began. “But two days before we were to bring the candidates in I got an urgent, last minute assignment in Austria. By the time I got back, you had already gone in the chamber, and Erskine was dead.”</p><p class="p1">“Did you know him? Erskine?”</p><p class="p1">Her eyes slowly filled with grief.</p><p class="p1">“Not for very long, but he was a dear friend. I was the one who got him out of Germany in the first place,” she said softly. “It was my first solo mission just after I’d transferred from the SOE to the SSR.”</p><p class="p1">“Wow.”</p><p class="p1">“You don’t need to act so surprised,” she told him, but not unkindly.</p><p class="p1">“No, it’s not - it’s just you told me that you’re an agent and you’ve been here doing agent-type things but I guess it’s still sorta weird, just because you never hear about beautiful women wanting to be on the front lines.”</p><p class="p1">Peggy raised her eyebrow up sharply and Steve’s heart dropped to his stomach.</p><p class="p1">“I mean of course your beauty doesn’t mean that you’re not good at your job - actually it probably helps because no one sees you coming - not that your only talent is being beautiful! Of course you have many other talents - I’ve seen you shoot a gun after being shot, after all, I only meant-”</p><p class="p1">“Still as eloquent as ever, Captain,” she said, finally letting him off the hook.</p><p class="p1">“Guess I still haven’t gotten any better,” he winced, feeling himself go red in the face as he ran a hand through his hair.</p><p class="p1">“That’s no bad thing,” she told him with a smile.</p><p class="p1">The same smile he’d seen many times over the past few months when they were together, just the two of them.</p><p class="p1">“You didn’t want to ruin anything,” he realized out loud.</p><p class="p1">“What?”</p><p class="p1">“That night in front of your hotel door when you kissed my cheek for the first time. You told me you didn’t want to ruin anything. Because you already knew that once I found out the truth that everything would change between us.”</p><p class="p1">Steve knew he was right when she couldn’t meet his eyes.</p><p class="p1">“Well it has, hasn’t it?” she said bitterly.</p><p class="p1">“You tell me, Peggy.”</p><p class="p1">Peggy inhaled sharply, and she stared at her hands in her lap for a few long moments.</p><p class="p1">“There was a lot more of Peggy in Betty than you know,” she finally answered quietly. “More than there should have been.”</p><p class="p1">Steve’s heart stalled.</p><p class="p1">“So what we - when you said-”</p><p class="p1">“I meant every word I said, Steve,” Peggy whispered, still looking down. “About…”</p><p class="p1">“Your feelings toward me,” he finished for her when she trailed off.</p><p class="p1">She nodded stiffly.</p><p class="p1">“Oh.”</p><p class="p1">Steve took a few moments to contemplate her words - the <em>sincerity</em> of her words, but when he looked back at Peggy, he could see that she was already struggling to stay awake, as though her admission had taken the last of her energy.</p><p class="p1">Now wasn’t the time to finish this.</p><p class="p1">With Hydra hunting them down, Steve honestly didn’t know how much time they actually had to finish this. He hoped they would have at least some time to continue this conversation.</p><p class="p1">Because he had so much more to say.</p><p class="p1">So much more to tell her.</p><p class="p1">“You should get some rest,” he said softly, carefully guiding her back to lay down again before adjusting the blankets so that they covered her up to her chin.</p><p class="p1">“I thought I was supposed to be the one watching over you,” she murmured, a small but fond smile on her lips.</p><p class="p1">“You have,” he told her, his voice thicker than he’d intended. “Let me return the favour.”</p><p class="p1">“You already have, Steve,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering shut.</p><p class="p1">She was asleep within moments.</p><p class="p1">Steve watched her for a few minutes, as though something would change if he looked away for even a moment. When he was certain that she would remain stable, he adjusted his chair so he was half-facing the door as well as Peggy.</p><p class="p1">If Hydra was coming, he’d be ready.</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1"> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I love waxing poetic about dark brown eyes because they deserve more love than they get.</p><p>This fic is technically still completed since the original prompt is filled, and is marked as such. I don't know when I'm going to play with it again, but rest assured that there will be one more part to this story. After all, we haven't gotten to the big kiss yet ;)</p><p>That's all for this year. Pa'lante! xo</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fun fact, I managed to name 18 out of the 40 dancers on the USO tour are mentioned in some form or another in this fic. (Also I don't know if it's 40 I zoomed in on a picture of the final pose and counted but it was hella blurry).</p></blockquote></div></div>
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